Circuit closer attachment for valves



May 16, 1933. J DIEGEL 1,908,891

CIRCUIT CLOSER ATTACEMENT FOR VALVES Filed July 1, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 John M.Dicz% Ql May 16, 1933 J. M. DIEGEL CIRCUIT CLOSER ATTACHMENT FOR VALVES 3 SheetsSheet 2 Filed July 1929 gwventod John MDiag d q W+ QM w mm dbbomqa/ May 16, 1933. l DlEGEL 1,908,891

CIRCUIT CLOSER ATTACHMENT FOR VALVES Filed July 1, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 gym wanton John M .Dies fel dtkozmq:

Patented May 16, 1933 JOHN M. DIEGEL, QF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA CIRCUIT CLOSER ATTACHMENT FOR VALVES Application filed July 1,

My inventionrelates to alarm attachments for valves, and has for its object to provide a device whereby an alarm may be given upon the opening or closing of a valve.

rrnother object of the invention resides in providing an alarm attachment which may be readily applied to existing valve structures without appreciably reconstructing the same.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing an alarm attachment which may be mounted upon the valve in either of two positions so as to give the alarm either upon the opening or closing of the valve, as desired.

An obje't of the invention resides in providing a threaded sleeve rotatable upon the rotation of the valve operating mechanism and in providing, in conjunction therewith, a threaded member adapted to be screwed upon said sleeve, and in further providing switch mechanism adapted to be operated upon the movement of said threaded member.

Another object of the invention resides in constructing the support and operating mechanism for said switch in such a manner as to permit of the ready attachment thereof to the frame structure of the valve regardless of irregularities in the said frame and inaccuracies of" application of the mechanism thereto.

A feature of the invention resides in providing the support with a slot extending in the same direction as the axis of the sleeve, and in constructing the threaded member in the form of a nut having a boss extending through said slot and guided thereby, said boss being anovable longitudinally in said slot and in and out of said slot to compensate for irregularities in the attachment to the valve frame.

Another feature of the invention resides in constructing said switch mechanism with pairs of spaced parallel fingers extending away from said supportin a direction corre sponding to one direction of travel of the threaded member and in attaching to said lug a contactor having fingers extending in the opposite. direction to said first named fingers and adapted to intermesh therewith.

A still further object of the invention re- 1929. Serial No. 375,017.

sides in spacing said first named fingers equally throughout their extent to permit of the lateral movement of said fingers relative to one another to compensate for irregularities and in zucuracies in the mounting of the device on the valve frame.

A still further object of the invention resides in constructing the support in the form of a case having a closure therefor, and in disposing within said case supplemental switch means adapted to function in conjunction with said first named switch means, and a member on said closure for operating said se ond switch.

Other objects of the invention reside in the deta"s of construction thereof, and in the novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter illustrated or described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of an ordinary gate valve showing the application of an embodiment of my invention thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan View of a part of the structure shown in Fig. 2 with the cover for the case removed, illustrating the switch mechanism in closed position and drawn to a slightly larger scale.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing the switch mechanism in open position.

F 5 is a. view similar to Fig. 3 showing the valve mechanism in reverse position.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line6(3 of Fig. 3 and drawn to a still larger scale.

Fig. 7 is an elevational' View, partly in section, of a nut ordinarily employed in the conventional valve structure shown.

Fig. 8 is a similar view of a nut, which is employed in connection with the present invention in lieu of the conventional nut shown in Fig. 7.

In the operation of valves, and particularly for use in conjunction with sprinkler systems, the entire value of the installation depends upon some particular valve remaining either open or closed, as the case may be. In such installations, it occurs through inadvertence or malicious intent that such valves are opened or closed, whereby the system is rendered inoperative for the desired purpose. In case of sprinkler systems, the same being quite infrequently in operation, the error is never noticed until fire occurs and the system fails to function. My invention overcomes this disadvantage by providing a supervised system, whereby an alarm is given in case a valve is opened or closed, as the case may be, or when the switch box or wiring is tampered with in any way.

For the purpose of illustrating an application of my invention, I have shown in the drawings an ordinary gate valve indicated in its entirety at A. This valve comprises a body 10 which may be constructed with flanges 11 for attachment to pipes 12 and 13 in the usual manner through bolts 14. The body 10 includes a housing 15 for the valve head, not shown in detail. which is attached to a valve stem 16 extending through a stuffing box 17 attached to the housing 15. The valve is adapted to be opened and closed upon the movement of the valve stem into and out of the housing proper.

For operating the valve stem 16, the same is provided with threads 20 adapted to be engaged by a nut 18 (Fig. 7) to which a hand wheel 19 is fixed and held in place by means of a lock-nut 18. The nut 18 is formed with a hub 21 which is journallcd in a bearing 22 formed by means of two frame members 23 and 24 connected together and constituting a yoke indicated in its entirety at 25. The frame members 23 and 24 are constructed with ears 26 and 27 through which bolts 28 extend for clamping the parts of the bearing 22 together to rotatably support the hub 21. The yoke 25 is attached to the body 10 of the valve through ears 29 and 30 by means of cap screws 31 threaded into brackets 32 formed on the housing 15 of body 10. In the type of valve illustrated, each of the frame members 23 and 24 is constructed with a flange 33 and a web 34 which merge into the bearing 22 and ears 29 and 30. By means of this construction, the valve stem 16 is guided and actuated for reciprocable movement through the stuffing box 17 in a manner to cause the valve head to 0 en and close, as the hand wheel 19 is rotate In the application to a conventional valve structure of a device embodying my invention, a sleeve may be secured end-to-end to the usual hub 21 (Fig. 7) as by welding, or a hub structure including a sleeve 36, as shown in Fig. 8, may be substituted for the conventional hub structure, the latter course probably being preferable. In either case, the sleeve 36 freely encircles the valve stem 16, being threaded externally as at 37. This threaded sleeve serves to operate the switch mechanism in a manner presently to be described.

The invention furthercomprises a case 35 which is mounted upon the yoke 25 of valve A on one side thereof directly opposite the threaded sleeve 36. This case comprises a. bottom 39, side walls 40 and 41, end walls 42 and 43 and is preferably open at the upper portion thereof. A removable closure 44 in the nature of a cover is adapted to be secured to the case proper through machine screws 45, the case proper being tapped to receive the same. The case 35 is attached to the flanges 33 of the frame members 23 and 24 by means of screws 48 which pass through the bottom 39 and are threaded into the flanges 33. By properly drilling the holes for the screws 38 and by properly tapping the flanges 33, the case 35 may be positioned so as to operate the switch mechanism in the desired manner.

In conjunction with the threaded sleeve 36, I employ a tapped or threaded nut 46 which is adapted to screw upon the said sleeve and to be moved axially with respect to the said sleeve and stem 16 upon rotation of the hand wheel 19. This nut is constructed with a lug 47 extending outwardly therefrom and passing through a slot 48 formed in the bottom 39 of case 35, which slot extends completely across the same. Slot 48 serves to hold the nut 46 from rotation and to cause the said nut to move longitudinally along said slot upon rotation of the hand wheel 19.

\Vithin the case 39 is a switch mechanism indicated in its entirety at 49. This switch mechanism comprises two contacts 50 and 51 and a contactor adapted to cooperate therewith for connecting the said contacts. The contacts 50 and 51 being identical in construction, only contact 50 will be described in detail. This contact comprises two spaced parallel fingers 53 and 54 which are constructed with flanges 55. mounted upon an insulating block 56 and are held attached thereto by means of machine screws 57 screwed into the side 40 of case A and insulated from the said contacts through suitable insulating washers 62. The fingers 53 and 54 are preferably constructed of spring material and are adapted to be spread apart on the forcing of the cooperating member of the switch therebetween.

The contactor 52 consists of a bar 157 secured through two insulating blocks 58 and 59 to the lug 47. This bar is constructed with two fingers 60 and 61 which extend in a direction opposite to that of the fingers 53 and 54 and which are adapted to be received between the said fingers whenthe hand wheel 19 is sufliciently rotated to move the nut 46 and the lug 47 thereon in proximity to the bearing 22, as shown in Fig. 3. Upon rotation of the hand wheel 19 in the opposite direction, the contactor 52 is disengaged from the contacts 50 and 51 breaking the circuit through the said contacts.

The conta t fingers 53 and 54 are pref- These flanges are erably equally spaced throughout their extent which permits of the rocklng of the nut 46 in conformity with the threads thereon without interfering with the operation of the switch mechanism 49. By means of this construction, the case 35 may be mounted upon the yoke 25 without a great deal of prcc1 s1on since irregularities in the construction of the said yoke and inaccuracies of the mounting and aligning of the device are readily compensated for by the particular manner in which the lug 47 is mounted w1th respect to the case 35. Inasmuch as the lug 47 may tilt or move longitudinally within the slot 48, binding of the same within the slot is entirely precluded even though the case 35 be inaccurately mounted with respect to the axis of the valve stem 16.

In mounting the device, the nut 18 is fitted with an externally threaded sleeve or a substitute nut 18 with which such a sleeve 37 is incorporated is applied to the valve structure, the nut 46, in either case, being screwed upon the sleeve. The case 35 is next seated upon the upper edges of the flanges 33 of frame members 23 and 24, the lug 47 bemg guided into the case through the slot 48 therein. With the case 35 thus disposed, the holes for the screws 38 are drilled and tapped and the case secured in position. The fit of the lug 47 within the slot 48 serves to locate the case 35 in proper longitudinal relation with respect to the valve stem 16 and in the event that the lug 47 be loose within the said slot, if the case be properly positioned so that the said lug travels freely at one portion thereof, the lug will continue to so travel throughout the remainder of its path of movement along said slot even though said slot be not in exact parallel relation with respect to the axis of the valve stem. Due to the particular formation of the switch contacts and the con tactor, the same will function to operate the switch regardless of the relative axial position of the nut and case.

In conjunction with the switch 49, I employ a second switch 63 which comprises two spaced fingers 64 and 65 mounted in close proximity to one another upon an insulating block 67 attached to the side 40 of case These fingers are constructed with contact members 68 adapted to contact with one another when the fingers are brought together. This switch is operated through the closure 44 which is constructed with an insulating projection 69 attached to the same immediately above the ends of the said fingers. With the invention constructed as shown, the projection 69 serves to bring the fingers into contact and to close the circuit therethrough when the closure 44 is applied to the case. It can, however, be comprehended that the circuit through said fingers may be opened during the action of the closure 44 by having the projection 69 engage the lower rather than the upper finger.

In the installation of my invention, the same may be used with either a normally closed or a normally open circuit, and the device may be applied to the valve structure in a manner to cause the alarm to be given either for the opening or closing of the valve. The threads 37 on the sleeve 36 are of such a pitch as to cause the lug 47 to travel a distance not greater than that permissible within the limits of the case 35 upon rotation of the hand wheel 19 sufiiciently to cause the valve-head to travel the full length of its stroke. In this manner, injury cannot be done to the switch mechanism by moving the valve from one X- treme position to the other. When the device is to be used in a normally closed circuit for indicating the accidental closing of the valve, the switch mechanism is mounted as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In such case, the switch remains closed, as shown in Fig. 3 when the valve is open and is opened as shown in Fig. 4, when the valve is closed or partially closed. When it is desired to use the switch in a normally closed circuit for indicating accidental opening of a valve, the-same is mounted, as shown in Fig. 5. If, however. the device is desired to be used in a normally open circuit, the reversal of the disposition of the switch mechanism from that shown in the figures would be made.

The invention is exceedingly advantageous in that the same may be readily applied to existing valve structures with but very slight modification thereof. The switch mechanism is of the sliding contact type so that corrosion and fouling of the switch contacts is pre vented. The device may be quickly and easily applied to the valve structure and the manner of mounting the case and operating mechanism causes the same to adjust themselves relatii e to one another without requiring accuracy of attachment and alignment of the parts. It is practically impossible to tamper with the operation of the alarm signal without giving the desired alarm and particularly when used in a normally closed circuit. The application of my invention tothe valve in no manner interferes with theoperation of the valve. The device can be constructed at a nominal cost and may be readily applied and removed from the valve without interfering with the operation of the valve or dis connecting the valve from the system.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is 1. In combination with a rotatable threaded operating member. a nut screwed upon said member and movable longitudinally thereof, a support having contact members thereon, said support having a longitudinally extending slot therein, a radial lug on said nut extending transversely through said slot and movable along the same, and means directly connected to said lug for completing a circuit through said contact members.

2. In combination with a rotatable threaded operating member, a nut screwed upon said member and movable longitudinally thereof, a case having contact members, said case having a longitudinal slot formed therein, a radial lug extending outwardly from said nut transversely through said slot and into said case, and means actuated by said lug for closing a circuit through said contact members.

3. In combination with a rotatable threaded operating member, a nut screwed upon said member and movable longitudinally thereof, a case having contact members therein and formed with a longitudinally extending slot, a radial lug on said nut extending transversely through said slot and into said case, and a contactor mounted on said lug within said case and adapted to close a circuit through said contacts upon rotation of said operating member in one direction.

4. In combination with a rotatable threaded opera-ting member, a nut screwed upon said member and movable longitudinally thereof, a support, a pair of contacts secured to said support and having spaced contact fin ers extending in a longitudinal direction an a U-shaped contact bar carried by said nut and having longitudinally extending fingers adapted to intermesh with said first named fingers upon longitudinal movement of said nut.

5. In combination with a rotatable threaded operating member, a nut screwed thereon and movable longitudinally thereof, a support disposed in proximity to said operating member, a pair of contacts carried by said support and comprising fingers, said fingers extending in a longitudinal direction and lying in planes extending parallel to a plane passing through the axis of said operating member, and a point midway between said contacts, and a contactor carried by said nut and having fingers disposed substantially in the planes of the fin rs of said contacts and adapted to intermes therewith upon movement of said nut in one direction.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature to this specification.

JOHN M. DIEGEL. 

